At the age of 21, PV Sindhu achieved the biggest prize in the history of Indian badminton - an Olympic silver medal, to go past Saina Nehwal's bronze four years ago in London. To become the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal put her on a new pedestal, and transformed Sindhu as the queen of Indian badminton.

Her Olympic medal in Rio de Janeiro came during a breakout 2016, during which Sindhu claimed her first China Open Super Series and the Malaysia Masters, apart from finishing second at the Hong Kong Super Series. In 2017, she won her first India Open Super Series and also padded her trophy collection by receiving two awards at the Mahindra Scorpio Times of India Awards (TOISA), including the top prize of Sportsperson of the Year.

Speaking to TOI Sports on the sidelines of Badminton Association of India (BAI) conclave in New Delhi on Friday, Sindhu recalled the spike on confidence that her Rio performance gave her. "I didn't think I would have an Olympic medal at 21, but I knew I would give my best and play my game. I just viewed it as my first Olympics, and that I would take it one match at a time, but to bring a silver home made me very, very happy," she said.

"Each match went on and on, and it was really anybody's game. It's the Olympics, so everybody is at their best level and you're playing the top players. Keeping that mental aspect in mind, I only knew that I had to give my best - it wasn't compulsory to win a medal, because you never know when it might be your day or not be your day."

Post her stunning success in Rio, Sindhu went on to beat China's Sun Yu 21-11, 17-21, 21-11 in the final of the China Open at Fuzhou. "The Olympic medal gave me a lot of confidence, and I went and won my first Super Series in Hong Kong. So in that regards, what Rio did was give me extra motivation and the confidence that now anything can happen. My belief was stronger," said Sindhu, currently fourth in the BWF women's singles rankings after rising to second place in April.

For Indian badminton fans, there is no bigger rivalry right now than Sindhu versus Marin, her Spanish opponent with whom she has a 5-6 head-to-head record. Following the Rio Olympics, Sindhu met Marin in the Dubai World Super Series Finals in December and beat her in straight games 21-17, 21-13. When two faced off in the final of the India Open in April, Sindhu emerged victorious 21-19, 21-16 in 47 minutes. Most recently, Marin hit back by beating Sindhu 21-11, 21-15 in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open.

On her rivalry with current world No 2 Marin, Sindhu said the two were good friends off the badminton court and that their intense encounters on it were good for the sport. "On court, of course, we are rivals but off the court we're just normal friends. On court, definitely only one of us wants to win so we fight for that. That competition should always be there, that's how badminton will get better. That's what the sport, the players and the fans want. But off court, we're just friends," she said.

In 2016, India's shuttlers won a total of 34 titles across tournaments. Sindhu credits former All-England Open winner turned national badminton coach P Gopichand as an instrumental figure not just in her career, but as the driving force behind pushing Indian badminton to the next level. Last month, five students of the SAI Gopichand National Badminton Academy in Hyderabad won medals at the International Junior Grand Prix, further evidence of the belief Sindhu has that the next crop of players will be special.

"Gopi sir has been a huge source of inspiration, right from the Under-10 level. Thanks to him we've been getting the best facilities and now there are new coaches coming in, foreign coaches too, and whatever we've wanted, be it physios or whatever, so the structure is very good. Interest in the sport has increased a lot too, and I think there will be a lot more success going forward," she said.

"There are many youngsters out there who have been doing really well. I think after me, there's Rituparna Das who has done very well, but overall what I've seen is that the next set of badminton players is very talented and definitely there will be someone else."

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